'Cool Runnings' returns! Jamaican bobsled team headed to Sochi Winter Olympics | Daily Mail Online 'Cool Runnings 2! Jamaican bobsled team headed to Sochi after Olympic organizers offer to pay for the travel costs but they're still trying to raise money for their equipment The Jamaican bobsled team will be competing in Sochi after a 12 year absence from the Games When they debuted in 1988 time they had a four-man team and this year will use a two-man crew Olympic organizers promised to pay for the travel costs but they are still searching for backers to help pay for the equipment that they need The team shot to fame when their 1988 journey was turned into a Disney film in 1993, called Cool Runnings Cool Runnings 2: Downhill Daughter - The real-life sequel - BBC Sport Cool Runnings 2: Downhill Daughter - The real-life sequel By Caroline Rigby BBC World Service Sports reporter 25 Dec 2014 From the section Winter Sports Share this page Read more about sharing.

NaTalia Stokes is a member of the recently formed Jamaica women's bobsleigh team "I look forward to the day when running on ice is as easy as running on a field for Jamaicans." "When I say I'm on the Jamaican bobsleigh team, people always say, 'Cool Runnings', and I say, 'Yeah, that's me, that's us,'" laughs NaTalia Stokes. Hurtling down a steep, icy hill in a small cart, not dissimilar to a spruced up bath tub, isn't everyone's idea of fun. Less so, an obvious career choice for most Jamaicans. But if you're the daughter of Nelson Christian 'Chris' Stokes and the niece of Dudley Stokes - two of the original members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team whose story was immortalised in the 1993 movie Cool Runnings - bobsleigh is in your blood. "No one can describe to you what it's like to be a driver in a bobsleigh until you get in the sled," says NaTalia. "You seriously don't remember anything. "It's like going on a rollercoaster and closing your eyes.

But I knew from the adrenaline rush that goes through your body, I wanted to experience that over and over again. I fell in love on the first run and knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life." NaTalia, 19, is a member of the recently formed Jamaica women's bobsleigh team. It was created in response to the swell of interest generated from the nation's male athletes competing in the sport at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Yet, despite being related to two of the most famous bobsledders of all time, it was not until she began studying at college in the United States that NaTalia finally had a go. "During my sophomore year in college, I got so fat and thought I should probably get into a sport. I said, 'Dad, what about bobsleigh?' "He said, 'Are you sure? There are so many other things that you could do,' because he knows what it's all about; the crashes and having a really bad day at the track." In 1988 NaTalia's father, Chris Stokes, was preparing to compete at the Summer Olympics in Seoul.

He decided to take a short break to visit his brother at the Calgary Winter Olympics, where he was preparing to make history in the bobsleigh. Chris Stokes (left) and Dudley Stokes (right) were two of the original members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team A last-minute injury left the Jamaican team one man down and Chris was roped in. He competed in his first race less than a week after setting eyes on the sled for the first time. Jamaica managed to record one of the fastest starts of any team, but that year their Olympic dreams ended in a horrendous 85mph crash. "I thought, 'This feels different. Last time I checked you're supposed to be on the runners and now I'm on the top of my helmet.' I thought I'd missed that lesson," recalls Stokes senior. "It was physically and emotionally difficult. All these people thought we shouldn't be there and we proved them right. But we came back eight years later and beat a lot of teams." Chris went on to compete at four Winter Olympics and is now director of the Jamaica Bobsled Federation. Ultimately though, he is a father, and admits he felt conflicted by his daughter's choice of career.

"I have to walk a very thin line. I don't want to be the person who says it's not a sport for women, because it is. I don't want to be the father who says, 'Get a degree and get a job and start a family.' "It's a dangerous sport and she is my only child and it's not something that I would have pushed her to do. "The truth is that this is a dream that she has. I recognised that I can't really compromise and dissuade her dreams because of my own experiences or knowledge." The Jamaica women are coached by former Olympic bobsledder Todd Hays, who guided the US female bobsledders to two out of the three medals on offer at the Sochi Olympics. He believes the Caribbean island could be just as successful in the sport, thanks to its sprinting pedigree. "In bobsleigh, the start is a tremendous factor in the race. You have to be explosive and fast," he explains. "I'd love to get some of these sprinters on a sled. If we do, it will be a game changer because the talent and speed they have in Jamaica is fantastic. "We definitely don't want to just take part anymore.

The athletes are just too good in Jamaica. The brand has value and if we can get the right sponsors involved, I think we can make a very legitimate run at a medal." NaTalia is following in the trail of her father Chris, who raced at the 1988 Winter Olympics So could we see a day when Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce join NaTalia in the bobsleigh team? Chris Stokes believes so. He says: "That day may be closer than you think. Our training camp is based out of the sports college where some of the nation's leading sprinters train. So we may have a couple of surprises after Rio in terms of elite athletes coming over into the sport of bobsleigh." However, running on ice is vastly different from a track - think 'Bambi' on a hill, in winter. "It's like seeing a world in black and white and then all of a sudden trying to see colour for the first time. A lot of these athletes have never seen a sled before or been in snow," says NaTalia. "But once we get that down, I think we'll be unstoppable.

I look forward to the day when running on ice is as easy as running on a field for us." As a former sprinter himself, Chris knows that challenge only too well, saying: "Track and field is a bit of a primadonna sport; you walk with your spikes that weigh a couple of ounces, it's nice and warm outside, you get to lay around. "You get into bobsleigh and it's freezing outside. You get beat up in the sled and it's not for the faint of heart. These are the sort of transitions that are required. "So we have a pool of athletes and we intend to expose them to what it's about. And we feel that at the end of the day we will have some of the fastest athletes in the world on our bobsleigh teams." The Jamaican bobsleigh team won many hearts at the Calgary Olympics more than a quarter of a century ago. In four years' time in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang, they plan to win medals. "We have some excellent athletes in the programme. I believe we have a chance to do something special in terms of Olympics performance, perhaps more so with the women's programme at the moment than with the men's," adds Chris.

NaTalia, aged three, wearing Chris Stokes's helmet NaTalia and her team mates are already writing the next chapter in the Cool Runnings story. Disney may have sprinkled a healthy dose of Tinseltown stardust to embellish the facts, but NaTalia believes they got one character just right. A character who continues to feature heavily in the real-life sequel. "The lady that plays the grandma reminds me so much of my grandma, because she's so strong and loves us so much and motivates us," she says. "I think they got that character spot on. "She's just like, 'Oh Lord, why can't we have normal kids and grandchildren that just go to school and want to be lawyers or doctors? Why do we have people who want to go down a hill in a sled? Of all the things you could have chosen...' "My grandma had to watch her son crash and she doesn't want to see that happen to me.

But she's really supportive and I love her for that." NaTalia prepares for a practice run in the bob Share this page Debunking Movie Myths: The Jamaican Bobsled Team | Bleacher Report Debunking Movie Myths: The Jamaican Bobsled Team By Jameson Fleming , Senior Writer May 12, 2008 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories 79.2K 4 Comments Any movie based on a true story usually has its "Hollywood" scenes added so the movie appeals to a mass audience. Many times the truth to the "true" story is stretched and many parts of the movie are fabricated. Walt Disney Pictures takes stretching the truth to an all new level with its movie Cool Runnings. IMBD says "[Cool Runnings was] based on the true story of the First Jamaican bobsled team trying to make it to the winter olympics." This is hardly the case. The Jamaican Bobsled Team's real journey to the Olympics only serves as a minor inspiration or guidelines to the plot of Cool Runnings.

Most people who know the story of Cool Runnings remember the early scene of Junior Bevil taking out two other sprinters in an Olympic qualifying heat. That didn't happen. What really happened: Two Americans George Finch and William Maloney knew sprinters would make the best starters for bobsledding. What better place to find sprinters than in Jamaica, a country the two men had family and business connections to. The problem they ran into in Jamaica was they couldn't garner any support from any of the nation's best sprinters; instead, they looked to the Jamaican military. There they found their bobsledders. In the movie, Junior sells his car, and Sanka and Derice raise money at a kissing booth to fund the trip to Calgary. That also didn't happen. What really happened: As mentioned before, two Americans with lots of money funded the team. Money was never an issue for the Jamaican Bobsled Team. In the movie, The team trained in pushcarts and had little experience heading into the Olympics. Most likely didn't happen. What really happened: The team practiced their push-start in a pushcart on a flat surface on a military base in Jamaica.

The team headed to Calgary months in advance to begin training on a real track and in a real sleigh. Eventually, they traveled to Austria to compete in a few minor events before the Olympics. In the movie, the bobsledding community hates the Jamaicans at first. It's not until the very end when the Jamaicans show what the Olympics are truly about that the world opens its arms to them. The team crashes just meters from the finish line, but they are determined to finish the race. The quartet carries the sleigh the remaining distance across the finish line. This is half true, half false. What really happened: The bobsledding community loved the fact that the Jamaicans were competing in the Winter Olympics. They graciously welcomed them and one team even provided them with a back up sleigh so the Jamaicans could qualify for the Olympics. In the actual race, the Jamaicans did crash, but unlike in the movie where a technical error causes the crash, driver's error in all likelihood caused the crash in real life. Since 1988, the Jamaican bobsled team has continued to improve as a team.

In 1994, they finished 14th ahead of both American teams, the Russians, and the French. The Jamaicans took home the gold medal in the 2001 World Push Championships. 'Cool Runnings' 2? Jamaican bobsled team aims for Sochi Olympics - TODAY.com Today.com 'Cool Runnings' 2? Jamaican bobsled team aims for Sochi Olympics 2013-10-25T21:29:00.000Z comment () Today Winston Watts, 46, (above left) is helping lead the effort for the Jamaican bobsled team to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympic games after the team failed to make the last two Winter Olympic Games. The movie “Cool Runnings” is 20 years old, but Jamaican bobsledder Winston Watts admits he still watches it regularly. “It's a movie you cannot get tired of watching,’’ Watts told TODAY.com. “It's very touching. It's so emotional. Even up until today I watch that movie like it’s new.

It’s just inspirational.” Watts, who was a member of the Jamaican Olympic teams that competed in bobsled in 1994, 1998 and 2002, has come out of retirement to lead a push to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which would be Jamaica's first appearance in the sport since 2002 after failing to qualify in 2006 and 2010. The 46-year-old and his Jamaican bobsled teammates are hoping to create their own sequel to the feel-good story of the 1988 Olympic bobsled team from the tiny island nation. “We have another chapter to write,’’ Dudley "Tal" Stokes, one of the original bobsledders from 1988 and the current president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation, told TODAY.com. “We want to go out there and show the world that we’re still around, that we’re still competitors,’’ said Watts.

“You always hear people at events and over in Europe even asking, ‘Hey, where is the Jamaican bobsled team?''' Today Former Jamaican bobsled team member Lascelles "King" Brown (left), who now competes for Canada, helped convince his good friend and former teammate, Winston Watts (right), to come out of retirement to try to make the Sochi Olympics in the two-man bobsled for Jamaica. It turns out the majority of the team is basing its comeback from an unlikely place — tiny Evanston, Wyo., with a population of just over 12,000. The town is right near the border with Utah and has become their training center thanks to its proximity to Park City, Utah, which has a bobsled track remaining from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Watts is eight years older than any bobsledder who has ever qualified for the Olympics, but he was persuaded to make one more run at a spot in the two-man bobsled by former teammate and good friend Lascelles "King" Brown.

Following the 2002 Olympics, Brown began competing for Team Canada, winning a silver medal in the two-man event in 2006, after marrying a Canadian woman and becoming a citizen. When he visited Watts in 2010 and saw the shape his friend was in after working in the oil fields of Wyoming, Brown inspired him to get back into bobsledding for the Jamaican team. “Everyone kept asking me in Canada, ‘Where is the Jamaican team?’’’ Brown told TODAY.com. “I went to Winston and said, 'Now you're living in the States, you understand how bobsled works inside and out, and it’s cheaper for you to get access to a track rather than living in Jamaica and flying over here.’ Plus, he is in great shape. I think they have a legitimate shot to make it to Sochi.” “I think this crew with Winston has a very good chance in qualifying in the two-man,’’ Stokes agreed. “They have new equipment, good runners and the usual outstanding athletes. The tough part of (Watts) making a comeback is the mental aspect and all the work that has to go in around the sport.

I’m a little surprised he's chosen to take that on, but he’s very serious and has matured in a lot of ways.” Today Funding is scarce for the Jamaican bobsled team, as the sport is not as popular on the island nation as sports like track and field where Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt is a national icon. Members of various Jamaican bobsled teams over the years are shown meeting with Bolt, including Winston Watts directly to his left in the picture. After a failed bid to reach the 2006 Olympics, Watts retired to take care of his family, but he was intrigued by the idea of giving it one more shot. He began his bobsled career on the Olympic team in 1994, after being recruited by the members of the original Jamaican bobsled team, who saw him working out and asked if he would be interested in giving it a try. More than 20 years later, he is still enthralled with the sport. “I started thinking, yes, I know I have some age on me, but in the shape I’m in, I can do this,’’ Watts said.

"I am hungry to achieve this." He also had the support of Evanston, which has been a proud home of Jamaican bobsledders since 1997 thanks to the efforts of local lawyer Paul Skog, a resident of the town for more than 30 years. “I saw the movie ‘Cool Runnings’ and figured they have to train somewhere, so why not give them a call and see where they train?’’’ Skog told TODAY.com. “We are 45 minutes from the track in Park City. Without authorization, I got ahold of the team, and offered the town as a home away from home. The town really gave of itself, and (the Jamaicans) started coming in 1997. The town helped the Jamaican team get to the 1998 Olympics. Just about all of them retired after ’98, so Winston pretty much put the second generation of Jamaican bobsledders together.” “They adopted us and helped us through the years,’’ Watts said about the town of Evanston. “They can’t get rid of us.” Three other Jamaican bobsled members are based in Evanston, with two others in Jamaica, according to Watts.

It has been easier to train for the two-man event because it is often difficult to assemble four team members to practice for the four-man bobsled event. While they have a two-man sled donated from Germany, funding for travel and living expenses has been their biggest hurdle. The team does not have a large corporate sponsor and the Jamaican bobsled federation has a very small budget, but the bobsledders are grateful for sponsorship dollars from local businesses. They are also accepting donations on the team’s website . “We are really barely scraping through with funding right now,’’ Watts said. “We have the sled, we have the manpower, so it’s mainly just raising money to travel in order to train and compete to qualify, and also just living expenses while we train.” Securing high-level equipment was a crucial step in qualifying because the Jamaicans feel like their athleticism measures up to any team in the world. Watts and Brown set an Olympic record for the push-start segment of the two-man race in 2002 at 4.78 seconds.

“Winston and his brakeman set the Olympic record for the push-start segment of the race, thus proving the premise of the movie, that Jamaica has great athletes and that the only reason they lost was because of the equipment and the coaching,’’ Skog said. “If you have good athletes and good equipment, you’re going to win,’’ Watts said. “Those years, we had some of the best athletes in the world, but we didn’t have high-class equipment.” Brown said the Canadian team also has offered assistance to the Jamaican team by providing access to its coaches and training facility in Calgary. “We want to see them make it to the Games,’’ Brown said. The main obstacle now is a more intricate qualifying process that requires a good amount of travel for training and participation in qualifying races in locations like Calgary and Lake Placid, N.Y. A pilot must be ranked in the top 50 by the international bobsled federation (FIBT) as of Jan. 19 to qualify for Sochi, and Winston is currently ranked No. 30 in the two-man sled event. “The qualification standards and requirements have been getting more and more difficult,’’ Stokes said.

“It’s much different than when we first competed (in 1988).” The hope is that a spot in Sochi will bring enough attention and sponsorship to ensure that the Jamaican bobsled team can be a regular Olympic qualifier. Today The 1993 film 'Cool Runnings.' “That's how it works,’’ Stokes said. “You create a buzz and a hype and an interest and keep that going.” The underdog story of the Jamaican bobsled team remains today, though in a slightly different form than the one that inspired the hit movie 20 years ago. “I think people have an emotional connection to the story,’’ Stokes said. “It's an unusual underdog story because of the circumstances and peculiar struggles, and trying to do it from a warm country without many resources. The key is to keep coming back to the Olympics to keep the story alive.” Cool Runnings 2: Downhill Daughter - The real-life sequel - BBC Sport Cool Runnings 2: Downhill Daughter - The real-life sequel By Caroline Rigby BBC World Service Sports reporter 25 Dec 2014 From the section Winter Sports Share this page Read more about sharing.

NaTalia Stokes is a member of the recently formed Jamaica women's bobsleigh team "I look forward to the day when running on ice is as easy as running on a field for Jamaicans." "When I say I'm on the Jamaican bobsleigh team, people always say, 'Cool Runnings', and I say, 'Yeah, that's me, that's us,'" laughs NaTalia Stokes. Hurtling down a steep, icy hill in a small cart, not dissimilar to a spruced up bath tub, isn't everyone's idea of fun. Less so, an obvious career choice for most Jamaicans. But if you're the daughter of Nelson Christian 'Chris' Stokes and the niece of Dudley Stokes - two of the original members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team whose story was immortalised in the 1993 movie Cool Runnings - bobsleigh is in your blood. "No one can describe to you what it's like to be a driver in a bobsleigh until you get in the sled," says NaTalia. "You seriously don't remember anything. "It's like going on a rollercoaster and closing your eyes.

But I knew from the adrenaline rush that goes through your body, I wanted to experience that over and over again. I fell in love on the first run and knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life." NaTalia, 19, is a member of the recently formed Jamaica women's bobsleigh team. It was created in response to the swell of interest generated from the nation's male athletes competing in the sport at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Yet, despite being related to two of the most famous bobsledders of all time, it was not until she began studying at college in the United States that NaTalia finally had a go. "During my sophomore year in college, I got so fat and thought I should probably get into a sport. I said, 'Dad, what about bobsleigh?' "He said, 'Are you sure? There are so many other things that you could do,' because he knows what it's all about; the crashes and having a really bad day at the track." In 1988 NaTalia's father, Chris Stokes, was preparing to compete at the Summer Olympics in Seoul.

He decided to take a short break to visit his brother at the Calgary Winter Olympics, where he was preparing to make history in the bobsleigh. Chris Stokes (left) and Dudley Stokes (right) were two of the original members of the Jamaican bobsleigh team A last-minute injury left the Jamaican team one man down and Chris was roped in. He competed in his first race less than a week after setting eyes on the sled for the first time. Jamaica managed to record one of the fastest starts of any team, but that year their Olympic dreams ended in a horrendous 85mph crash. "I thought, 'This feels different. Last time I checked you're supposed to be on the runners and now I'm on the top of my helmet.' I thought I'd missed that lesson," recalls Stokes senior. "It was physically and emotionally difficult. All these people thought we shouldn't be there and we proved them right. But we came back eight years later and beat a lot of teams." Chris went on to compete at four Winter Olympics and is now director of the Jamaica Bobsled Federation. Ultimately though, he is a father, and admits he felt conflicted by his daughter's choice of career.

"I have to walk a very thin line. I don't want to be the person who says it's not a sport for women, because it is. I don't want to be the father who says, 'Get a degree and get a job and start a family.' "It's a dangerous sport and she is my only child and it's not something that I would have pushed her to do. "The truth is that this is a dream that she has. I recognised that I can't really compromise and dissuade her dreams because of my own experiences or knowledge." The Jamaica women are coached by former Olympic bobsledder Todd Hays, who guided the US female bobsledders to two out of the three medals on offer at the Sochi Olympics. He believes the Caribbean island could be just as successful in the sport, thanks to its sprinting pedigree. "In bobsleigh, the start is a tremendous factor in the race. You have to be explosive and fast," he explains. "I'd love to get some of these sprinters on a sled. If we do, it will be a game changer because the talent and speed they have in Jamaica is fantastic. "We definitely don't want to just take part anymore.

The athletes are just too good in Jamaica. The brand has value and if we can get the right sponsors involved, I think we can make a very legitimate run at a medal." NaTalia is following in the trail of her father Chris, who raced at the 1988 Winter Olympics So could we see a day when Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce join NaTalia in the bobsleigh team? Chris Stokes believes so. He says: "That day may be closer than you think. Our training camp is based out of the sports college where some of the nation's leading sprinters train. So we may have a couple of surprises after Rio in terms of elite athletes coming over into the sport of bobsleigh." However, running on ice is vastly different from a track - think 'Bambi' on a hill, in winter. "It's like seeing a world in black and white and then all of a sudden trying to see colour for the first time. A lot of these athletes have never seen a sled before or been in snow," says NaTalia. "But once we get that down, I think we'll be unstoppable.

I look forward to the day when running on ice is as easy as running on a field for us." As a former sprinter himself, Chris knows that challenge only too well, saying: "Track and field is a bit of a primadonna sport; you walk with your spikes that weigh a couple of ounces, it's nice and warm outside, you get to lay around. "You get into bobsleigh and it's freezing outside. You get beat up in the sled and it's not for the faint of heart. These are the sort of transitions that are required. "So we have a pool of athletes and we intend to expose them to what it's about. And we feel that at the end of the day we will have some of the fastest athletes in the world on our bobsleigh teams." The Jamaican bobsleigh team won many hearts at the Calgary Olympics more than a quarter of a century ago. In four years' time in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang, they plan to win medals. "We have some excellent athletes in the programme. I believe we have a chance to do something special in terms of Olympics performance, perhaps more so with the women's programme at the moment than with the men's," adds Chris.

NaTalia, aged three, wearing Chris Stokes's helmet NaTalia and her team mates are already writing the next chapter in the Cool Runnings story. Disney may have sprinkled a healthy dose of Tinseltown stardust to embellish the facts, but NaTalia believes they got one character just right. A character who continues to feature heavily in the real-life sequel. "The lady that plays the grandma reminds me so much of my grandma, because she's so strong and loves us so much and motivates us," she says. "I think they got that character spot on. "She's just like, 'Oh Lord, why can't we have normal kids and grandchildren that just go to school and want to be lawyers or doctors? Why do we have people who want to go down a hill in a sled? Of all the things you could have chosen...' "My grandma had to watch her son crash and she doesn't want to see that happen to me.

But she's really supportive and I love her for that." NaTalia prepares for a practice run in the bob Share this page FILMCLUB - Film - Cool Runnings Leon Robinson In 1988, Jamaica surprised everyone by entering a bobsled team at the Winter Olympics. This cheerful comedy is about how that unlikely sporting adventure started: with a bunch of sprinters not quite good enough for the Olympic team looking for another sport to suit them, and deciding to ignore the lack of snow on their island by picking the bobsled! They practise using sleds with wheels, but then have the shock of dealing with real icy conditions when they get to Canada. A sweet and funny film. Related films Cool Runnings (1993) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error When a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican Bobsled Team.

Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON TV a list of 34 titles created 17 Jan 2013 a list of 42 titles created 06 Feb 2014 a list of 28 titles created 22 Jun 2014 a list of 22 titles created 02 Sep 2014 a list of 31 titles created 1 month ago Search for " Cool Runnings " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 2 wins & 2 nominations. See more awards » Videos A self-centered lawyer is sentenced to community service coaching a rag tag youth hockey team. Director: Stephen Herek When an accident miraculously gives a boy an incredibly powerful pitching arm, he becomes a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Director: Daniel Stern Gordon Bombay is forced to withdraw from the minor hockey league with a knee injury. Much to his surprise, he is given the job of coach of Team USA Hockey for the Junior Goodwill Games in ...

See full summary » Director: Sam Weisman The unruly team of hockey misfits grows up a bit and receives scholarships to a prestigious prep school, where they take on the snotty varsity team. Director: Robert Lieberman When a boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make that possible. Director: William Dear Misfits form their own opposing team to an elite peewee football team, coached by the elite team coach's brother. Director: Duwayne Dunham Edit Storyline Irving Blitzer disgraced himself when putting extra weights into his team's bob in the Olympics, resulting in his gold medal being taken away from him. Years later, Derice Bannock, son of a former friend of Irv, fails to qualify for the 100-yard sprint for the Olympics due to a stupid accident. But when he hears of Irving Blitzer living also on Jamaica, Derice decides to go to the Games anyway, if not as a sprinter, then as a bobsledder. After some starting problems, the first Jamaican bobsledding team is formed and heads for Calgary.

In the freezing weather Derice, Sanka, Junior and Yul are only laughed at, since nobody can take a Jamaican bobsledding team led by a disgraced trainer seriously. But team spirit and a healthy self-confidence may lead to a few surprises in the upcoming Winter Games. Written by Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com> 1000+ images about DISNEY'S COOL RUNNINGS on Pinterest | Leon robinson, To tell and Pretty much So the next time you feel like you just can’t do it, remember to tell yourself this… | Proof That Pretty Much Everything In Life Is Easier Than Being On A Jamaican Bobsled Team Cool Runnings See More Cool Runnings (1993) - Synopsis The content of this page was created directly by users and has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. Warning! This synopsis may contain spoilers See plot summary for non-spoiler summarized description. Visit our Synopsis Help to learn more Synopsis In the beginning we see Derice Bannock (Leon) running across the island of Jamaica.

Derice is training for the 1988 Olympic Games, and hopes to be a gold-medal winner just like his father. Before the trial run, Derice visits his friend Sanka Coffee (Doug E. Doug), who is competing in a pushcart race. Sanka wins the race but ends up crashing just after he crosses the finish line, to everyone's amusement. Later that day, Sanka joins Derice's family at the track for the Olympic trials. Derice is preparing to race, meeting a few other competitors, including a short athlete named Junior Bevil (Rawle D. Lewis). The race starts off great, but halfway across the track, Junior stumbles and trips several runners, including Derice. Derice stumbles back to his feet as the finish-line tape is broken, watching his dreams go up in smoke. Derice confronts Coolidge (Winston Stona), who is charge of the Jamaican competition, and begs for a chance to run again, but Coolidge refuses. Derice then notices a photo of his father on his wall, next to an unfamiliar man.

Coolidge identifies the man as Irving Blitzer, an American now living on the island and who had tried to convince Derice's father, Ben, to compete in bobsledding. Derice, seeing another chance to compete, as a bobsledder, takes the picture and goes to meet with Irv. Sanka hears about Derice's idea. At first he is excited but balks upon learning that bobsledding is a WINTER sport. Eventually Sanka is persuaded to help his best friend. The two men find Blitzer (John Candy) working as a bookie in a run-down pool hall. Having been disqualified from bobsledding due to cheating, and therefore disgraced, Blitzer is far from eager to help them, and does not want anything to do with the sport of bobsledding. However, the two athletes don't give up. Upon learning that Derice is the son of his old friend and colleague, Blitzer relents. Next day, Blitzer tries to recruit additional team members.

The first newcomer is a bald man Sanka recognizes from the Olympic running trials, who introduces himself as Yul Brenner (Malik Yoba), and is more than willing to compete in bobsledding so long as it leads him to the Olympics. Only one other man shows up to join the team: Junior, the clumsy runner from the track. having been one of the other runners tripped up by Junior's fall, Yul is immediately hostile to Junior, but relents since without Junior, they don't have a full team. Blitzer begins training the four immediately. He builds a makeshift bobsled and has them push it down a steep slope, telling the team that if they can't get a push-start completed in under 6 seconds, they won't have a chance at competing. Yul is the second mlddle man, Junior is first middle man. Blitzer chooses Sanka as brakes, but Sanka resists. He reminds him that the driver in bobsledding has many more responsiblities than a push car racer, and can't go out to have fun with his teammates. Sanka relents and decides Derice can be driver.

After the first day of training, Junior returns home with the intention of telling his father about the team. But Mr. Bevil (Charles Hyatt) comes home and tells Junior that he has gotten his son a job with a brokerage house in Miami, which he is expected to take by the end of the month. Intimidated, Junior clams up and cannot say anything more. Initially, the training does not go well. The group stumbles and falls several times, not even able to get into the sled. But after several tries, they climb in together and rocket down the mountain, eventually crashing into a police car. Blitzer runs after them cheering: they got started in 5.9 seconds! He tells them to bring the sled back up the mountain, making them groan. Now that the team is in good shape, Blitzer goes to Coolidge to ask for funding to get to the Olympics. But Coolidge refuses, believing that the team will be humiliated. Unshaken, Derice decides they will try to get the money elsewhere. After several fund-raising endeavors, they are far short of their goal. Junior comes back to the team after a day away, announcing that he has sold his car to get the required funds.

Derice does not want to take the money from Junior at first, thinking it to be exploiting Junior. But Junior explains that he still feels guilty for costing Derice and the others their first Olympic chance, and gladly gives up the money. The team heads to Calgary for the Olympic Games. While Blitzer adjusts to the weather easily, the Jamaicans are unprepared for the severe cold and buy heavy-duty coats as soon as the plane lands. Blitzer registers the team for competition, and meets a few colleagues from his days in bobsledding. He has lunch with one friend, Roger (Paul Coeur) and asks him for a sled so his team can compete. Roger is reluctant but agrees to sell off an old backup sled from the US team. The team begins learning how to move and walk on ice, using a hockey rink for practice. It does not go well at first, but they eventually make progress. That night, Derice watches the Swiss bobsled team practicing and becomes enamored with their efficient performance. Blitzer shows off the sled he purchased to the team. It's is rusted and old, but still works fine.

On their first day at the track, the Jamaican team is met with ridicule and scorn by other competitors. Blitzer tells them that a push-start will not be necessary for the initial run; they will just be nudged down the slide instead. While the run starts off fine, the sled ends up crashing before the finish line. Their next run does not go well either: They end up chasing the sled down the track. A photographer snaps a picture of the group running after the sled, and it makes the papers, which doesn't sit in well with Mr. Bevil and Coolidge. Derice is repairing the sled when he meets one of Irv's old colleagues, who tells Derice that during the1972 competition, Irv hid weights at the bottom of his sled to accelerate its speed. As a result, he was kicked out and had his gold medals revoked. The following night at the hotel, Sanka tries to pose as a maid, but Yul brushes him aside, thinking he's insane. Junior receives a telegram from his father. The news story about the Jamaican team alerted Mr. Bevil to Junior's activities, and he is now ordering his son home.

While they are out in a bar that night, Yul encourages Junior to stand up for himself. Junior immediately responds by confronting the German team members who had insulted them earlier, resulting in a huge bar-fight between Yul, Sanka, Junior, and the Germans. At the Relax Inn Motel, Derice berates his teammates for what happened and tells them the Swiss team would never resort to stunts like that because they're awlays focused on their performance. Yul, Sanka, and Junior don't take Derice seriously and continue snickering. Sanka makes a crude joke about the Swiss team and what happens if they try to push a pretty girl off the ice. A few minutes later, Irv comes in and berates the three for not taking things seriously. He reminds them that everyone hates them and they need to get their act together. After thinking things over, the Jamaicans resume serious training. With Irv's help, they are quickly whipped back into shape. Finally, the night of the Jamaican team's qualifying run has arrived. Irv presents the team with special competition suits as a reward for their improved behavior.

Irv then meets with the three judges, who remind him that the team must make it off the slope and across the finish line in under 1 minute in order to be eligible. The team sets out, and despite a few bumps, they cross the finish line safely. After several tense moments, their time is revealed: 59.46! Irv and the team are overjoyed. The guys celebrate by painting their sled with Jamaica's colors, and Derice decides to christen the sled "Cool Runnings." At that moment, Irv gets a letter from the judges informing him that the Jamaican team has been disqualified. Irv angirlly storms into the offices of the men in charge, demanding to know why. Apparently, there is a rule stating that a team must compete in an international race to qualify. Previously, an Olympic trial would be considered an international race, but this time the committee decided to change the rules. However, Irv isn't fooled and immediately discerns the truth: His former coach (from the '72 Games and currently a primary judge of the '88 Games) Kurt Hemphill, is still punishing him for embarrassing the USA by cheating.

Irv confronts Hemphill and confesses that 16 years previously, he'd made the mistake of his life: He resorted to cheating because he wanted to win and didn't care what the consequences were. Instead, he ended up disgracing the Americans by embarrassing everyone -- his coach, teammates, friends, and family -- and his gold medals were revoked as a result. Irv also reminds Kurt that it was HIS mistake, and if Kurt wants revenge, he should punish him, not the Jamacian bobsledding team, as they deserve to represent their country by competing in the Winter Games as contenders and don't deserve to suffer because of his past mistakes. That night at their hotel, the team gets a phone call informing them that the committee has reversed its decision - the Jamaicans are back in! Everyone on the island of Jamaica watches the bobsled team wave their flag as they enter the Olympic stadium. After the opening ceremony, Irv tries to find some inspirational words for the team. But this conversation is cut short by the arrival of Mr. Bevil, who has come to collect his son. Bevil tells Junior that he is only looking out for his sons' best interest, and demands the young man gather his things.

But Junior draws on Yul's advice and stands up to his father, telling him he's staying with his team, and that his father cares about his own interest in making himself look good more than his son's. Junior tells him he's an Olymic athlete now, not his puppet, and sends his father on his way. On the first day of competition, the Jamaican team is scheduled to compete last. Derice tries to psyche up his team, imitating the behavior of the Swiss. The team begins its run, essentially stumbling down the track and bouncing off the edges. Their end run time is 58.04, landing them in last place. Derice again tries to imitate the Swiss, but the team is fed up with his antics. Sanka sets him straight by pointing out that they cannot copy the movements of another team; they must get their own style. Derice insists that he just wants to be the best they can be. Sanka counters that "the best [they] can be is Jamaican," and that they didn't come all this way to forget about their heritage. Derice relents after realizing that his friend and their teammates are right.

On the second day of competition, the Jamaican team is psyched for sledding. They pull together a push-start within a fraction of their previous time, and wind up getting off even faster than the Swiss team. Their finishing time is 56.53, rocketing them into 8th place! They are now considered contenders for the medal. That night while studying the track, Derice asks Irv about why he cheated. Irv explains that he'd become so focused on winning that he couldn't picture life without it, a horrible thing for an athlete to do. Irv tells Derice that he doesn't want him making the same mistakes that he's made 16 years earlier, and tells him to focus on tomorrow. The last day of competition arrives, and the fans are eager to see Jamaica's performance. They start off with an even better formation than yesterday, but the ancient sled is unknowingly in poor shape. A bad bounce sends it careening out of control, eventually turning over and sending the team on a terrible out-of-control trajectory. When the sled finally skids to a stop, several tense seconds pass before the team even moves. Finally, Derice regains consciousness and sees the finish line mere feet away.

Paramedics rush down to tend to the Jamaicans, only to part as they rise to their feet. The guys hoist the sled over their shoulders and begin walking toward the finish line, determined to finish the race no matter what. The crowd, awestruck by the Jamaicans' performance, cheers them on as they finish. Everyone, even Mr. Bevil (now wearing a Jamaican souvenir shirt) shows their admiration: Even though their chances of winning are gone, Jamaica finishes with dignity and pride. Text at the end reveals that Derice, Sanka, Junior, and Yul returned to Jamaica as heroes - then four years later returned to the Olympics as equals. Synopsis

Question: The 1993 file Cool Runnings is based on a Jamaican team trying to compete in what sport at the 1988 Winter Olympics?
Answer: Bobsled